![]() “We can look forward to destruction here, just as the other countries in the Second World War.” This insight didn’t keep him or his successors from meddling in third world countries, from Guatemala to Indonesia, where the Cold War was brutal. In the nuclear age, “ we will be a battlefront,” Truman said. Perhaps that is one reason a catastrophe was avoided.įor four decades, America’s postwar presidents appreciated that the next hot war would likely be worse than the last. Even as the wars propelled the United States to world leadership, American leaders and citizens feared that a third world war might be as probable as it today appears unthinkable. The country emerged triumphant yet sobered by its wounds. By 1945, Americans had lived through two world wars. Navigating great power conflict is hardly a novel challenge for the United States. It will require a national effort of historical recovery and imagination - first and foremost to enable the American people to consider whether they wish to enter a major war if the moment of decision arrives. ![]() ![]() Preparing the country shouldn’t begin with tanks, planes and ships. The vast majority of Americans today are unused to enduring hardship for foreign policy choices, let alone the loss of life and wealth that direct conflict with China or Russia would bring. It is estimated that by the end of this decade, fewer than 10,000 will be left. veterans of World War II remain alive to tell their stories. Yet how many Americans can truly envision what a third world war would mean? Just as great power conflict looms again, those who witnessed the last one are disappearing. It has also vaulted a Chinese invasion of Taiwan to the forefront of American fears and increased Washington’s willingness to respond with military force. Since February, the war in Ukraine has created an acute risk of U.S.-Russia conflict. This grim reality has arrived with startling rapidity. 11 forever wars have been costly, but a true great power war - the kind that used to afflict Europe - would be something else, pitting the United States against Russia or even China, whose economic strength rivals America’s and whose military could soon as well. The United States now faces the real and regular prospect of fighting adversaries strong enough to do Americans immense harm. Washington, Moscow and Beijing would stiffly compete but could surely coexist. Although “ great power competition” became the watchword of Pentagonese, the phrase could as easily imply sporting rivalry as explosive conflict. A few years ago, it was still possible to expect a benign geopolitical future. Throughout my adult life and that of most Americans today, the United States bestrode the world, essentially unchallenged and unchecked. Biden’s warning signaled the start of a new era in American foreign policy. More than any other presidential statement since Sept. ![]() “Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III,” he said, “something we must strive to prevent.” He underscored the point hours later: “The idea that we’re going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews - just understand, and don’t kid yourself, no matter what you all say, that’s called World War III, OK?” involvement in Ukraine, he responded by invoking the specter of World War III four times in one day. In March, as President Biden was facing pressure to intensify U.S.
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